"My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose—somehow we always win out."

Ronald Reagan

Five Ways To Improve Team Planning

It's the second half of the business year and I just came out of my first
budget-planning meeting for 2018. How can it be that time already? While I
was ready to roll up my sleeves, my co-worker was less than enthusiastic.
His mind wasn't in the process and he simply didn't care. While I was
tempted just to figure out the budget myself, I know that if we are to be
successful as a team, we both need to buy in to the process and plans for
the upcoming year.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these
critical steps from business coach Matt Oechsli on how to better engage
your team in business planning.

1. Review your previous year's team goals. In order for
team members to take team goals seriously, progress must be tracked and an
annual review conducted. And, of course, this must involve the entire team.
This progress review will highlight the importance of achieving targets
that have been established.

2. Revisit individual areas of responsibility. Your job as
team leader is to ensure that everyone recognizes how their area of
responsibility is connected to achieving the team's goals. This goes beyond
simply performing their job. Identify how individuals on the team are
making contributions to the overall team goal. Each individual should have
a clear understanding of what is required of them and where they must
improve in order to assist the team in reaching their goals.

3. Set next year's goals. What is the long-range strategy
of your business? How will your team contribute to this growth? These are
key questions to ask when setting your team's goals and priorities for the
coming year. Every team member needs to be fully aware of the new goals and
how they are committing to contributing to these goals. In addition,
individual bonuses should be reflective of how their individual performance
impacts the goal.

4. Review progress quarterly. A quarterly team meeting has
one purpose: assessing progress towards goal. To set the tone and get
everyone's attention, this meeting is best held off-site for two to three
hours. A dedicated meeting establishes the seriousness of your goals and
shows that everyone is accountable. Are we on target? If not, why? What
adjustments need to be made and by whom? If on target, what's working and
how do we maintain the momentum?

5. Encourage collaboration. Healthy teams are those whose
team members pitch in without being told what to do. This type of "helping"
approach stems from the tone of the team set by leadership. Help your team
by creating a process for collaboration, such as daily huddle meetings or
setting up defined workstreams.

PCT
will be back tomorrow with more tips and ideas.

Source: Matt Oechsli, a business
coach for The Oechsli Institute, is a leading authority on attracting,
serving and retaining affluent clients. He delivers over 200 presentations
a year to groups from Sydney to Singapore to Wall Street bringing his
dynamic and practical message to financial professionals, support personnel
and sales management. He is also a long-time columnist for several business
publications, including WealthManagement.com, and author of
Building a Successful 21st Century Financial Practice: Attracting,
Servicing & Retaining Affluent Clients.